dont confuze bean beetles with cucumber beetles, they're different buggers bean beetle http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dbean%2Bbeetle%26fr%3Dyfp-t-501%26toggle%3D1%26cop%3Dmss%26ei%3DUTF-8&w=335&h=500&imgurl=static.flickr.com%2F2287%2F1632300876_8ddced300e.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fnaturespixel%2F1632300876%2F&size=80.6kB&name=Bean%20Beetle&p=bean%20beetle&type=JPG&oid=8d7581b417cb279a&fusr=NaturesPixel%20Photography&tit=Bean%20Beetle&hurl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/naturespixel/&no=3&tt=757 cucumber beetle http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dcucumber%2B%2Bbeetle%26y%3DSearch%26fr%3Dyfp-t-501%26ei%3Dutf-8%26js%3D1%26x%3Dwrt&w=333&h=500&imgurl=static.flickr.com%2F3231%2F2308061704_8a1ede2da5.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fseismic_2000%2F2308061704%2F&size=85.5kB&name=Spotted%20Cucumber%20Beetle%20on%20rose%20petal&p=cucumber%20%20beetle&type=JPG&oid=3f00fb8192afbb46&fusr=Seismic_2000&tit=Spotted%20Cucumber%20Beetle%20on%20rose%20petal&hurl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/seismic_2000/&no=3&tt=590 bean beetles will decimate your beans. as for the CPB, hand pick until you can't keep up, spray, then go back to hand picking until you can't keep up, spray etc.

Nope, it's not the CO bean beetle. The pic didn't turn up on that page you linked to (at least not for me -- probably a computer thing). But I googled it and found a wonderful page of beetle pics (linked below). Apparently I've got Bean Leaf Beetles: Bean Leaf Beetle (Cerotoma trifurcata): Adult beetles are reddish to yellowish in color, 1/4 inch long, have three or four black spots in a row along the inner edge of wing covers, and a black band occurs near the outer margins of wing covers. Larvae are whitish, dark brown at both ends, segmented, and have six small legs near the head. Adults chew holes in leaves, feeding on them from the under surface; larvae feed on roots, nodules, and on stems just below the soil surface, which can girdle the plant. more pics of them here (they do appear in yellow as well, which might have added to my confusion): http://www.ent.iastate.edu/imagegal/coleoptera/beanlb/blb_yellow_red.html http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/M1185.html http://www.oznet.k-state.edu/dp_hfrr/extensn/problems/beanleaf.htm They don't seem to kill the plants, for me they've just been a pain in the ass. Luckily, this year (so far) I've seen far fewer than last year. (Though last year was horrible for a lot of things. We had Japanese Beetles everywhere.) It's a very strange thing. I've combed through my gardening books (the main ones being E. Smith's Vegetable Gardener's Bible and Rodale's Encyc. of Organic Gardening) and none of them mention Bean Leaf Beetles. Perhaps I just missed it somehow. I put fresh Cucumber Beetle traps (in bright yellow plastic cups this time) among my squashes. I did see my first striped CBs this evening. Caught and killed about 15 of them. Here is a link that might be useful: Beetles

I have had similar experiences with spotted cucumber beetles. They will chew on my beans, chard, etc. While their total numbers are likely large, they are spread out, and are no more than a nuisance. I have had only modest numbers on my cucurbits at any given time. Striped cucumber beetles are a different matter. They pretty much stick to cucurbits... but they often swarm in large numbers, and will kill entire rows of seedlings unless I take preventive measures. They reproduce at an astonishing rate. They infest gherkins, cukes, and watermelon, and can cause some stunting, though they seldom kill them. But when I tried to grow an Asian snake gourd, they gnawed the seedlings relentlessly until only nubs were left. It might make a good trap crop. They will also attack & kill some of my squash... but for the most part, they seem to only attack plants under stress. They will kill C. maxima (such as hubbards) by spreading wilt from plant to plant; so I need to protect them with floating row cover until they bloom (I just removed the covers yesterday). At that point, the plants are strong enough to usually survive the onslaught. They attack C. pepo (such as pumpkins & acorns) and will swarm on one plant, while leaving neighboring plants untouched. There seems to be no rhyme or reason that I can determine; perhaps the plants in question are already under attack by borers, which tend to hit my acorns pretty hard. When they attack my C. moschatas (such as tromboncino), however, I can usually pinpoint the cause. In nearly every case, the plant the beetles swarm on is already under attack by one or more squash bugs. If I find & kill the squash bugs, the beetles will not swarm; the plants seem capable of defending themselves, unless weakened by other causes.

As far as I've heard, your stomach acid does a pretty good job on lots of things. Stuff that is bad for you (listeria, e.coli, etc) doesn't come from nowhere, it comes from contamination with feces, human typically. And direct sunshine can do a good job killing some of those, as well. If you have an immune disorder, then be more careful. Otherwise, I'm sure that cucumber is cleaner than anything you pick off the grocery store shelf that has been handled by several people, at least.